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Northern Trust 2020: Dustin Johnson Shoots 63, Cruises to 11-Stroke Victory
August 23, 2020
For the second time this year and 22nd time of his career, Dustin Johnson is a PGA Tour victor.
Johnson completed his dominant win at the 2020 Northern Trust at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, with an eight-under 63 in Sunday's final round. The title was never truly in doubt throughout the fourth round as the Travelers Championship winner continued his impressive play of late, which also included a second-place finish at the PGA Championship.
Here is a look at the top of the leaderboard, which can be found in full on the PGA Tour's official website.
1. Dustin Johnson, -30
2. Harris English, -19
3. Daniel Berger, -18
T4. Scottie Scheffler, -17
T4. Kevin Kisner, -17
T6. Jon Rahm, -16
T6. Webb Simpson, -16
T8. Ryan Palmer, -15
T8. Russell Henley, -15
T8. Alex Noren, -15
It was clear during Friday's second round that Johnson was the one to beat.
In fact, it looked like he was going to break or tie Jim Furyk's single-round record of a 58 on Friday when he was 11-under through 11 holes before he eventually settled for an 11-under 60 by ending with seven straight pars.
Johnson was nine-under through nine holes with two eagles in that round, and he continued his mastery of the front nine in Sunday's outing with an eagle on No. 2 and birdies on Nos. 4, 5, 7 and 8.
By the time he made the turn, he was already in full control of the tournament after entering the final round with a five-stroke advantage over Harris English and Scottie Scheffler.
"I'm in a great position and like where I'm at, but I'm still going to have to go out and shoot a good score," Johnson said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "You can go low out here and guys are going low every day, especially with the conditions we have—perfect greens, golf course is in great shape and not a lot of wind."
He did go out and shoot a good score, cruising to the easy victory with a safe approach at the end that resulted in two birdies and seven pars on the back nine.
Johnson put English and Scheffler in a position where they needed to be nearly perfect just to threaten.
Scheffler essentially was perfect when he became the 11th player in PGA Tour history to shoot a sub-60 round Friday with a 59, but he struggled to replicate that showing Sunday. He had two bogeys and zero birdies in the first 12 holes and fell well out of contention in the process.
English was better than Scheffler, notching four birdies on the front nine and playing steady enough golf down the stretch to secure second place.
While he didn't have much of a realistic chance to threaten the dominant Johnson, English can at least take solace knowing he was better than a number of notable players.
Tiger Woods posted a 66 for his best round of the tournament but was well behind the leaders at six under overall. Rickie Fowler continued his consistency with a two-under 69, but his seven under for the tournament was nowhere near enough to keep pace with the leaders.
Justin Thomas also finished at seven under following a 71 in Sunday's round, while Rory McIlroy ended his both his tournament and final round at two under with a 69.